My First Glaze Firing!

I'm home! YaY! I took a little leave of absence, but I'm back and working like crazy again. It feels good to get back into the swing of things. Only wish I could catch up on some z's. In due time though, right? Anyways, last night I glazed all my small pieces, loaded the kiln and started the very first glaze firing here at the new homestead. (Many many thank you's to my husband and our friend Mac who worked diligently to get the electricity up and running last weekend.)Thank you guys! I owe you BIG!


I decided to start with the smaller pieces and use them as guinea pigs. I'm using new glazes and a kiln that I've never used before. The kiln is my father-in-law's. It's a Paragon DTC 100. So far I am only using one shelf. Maybe if I learn how to make plates in the near future, I can stack more in there. But for now, one is good.

Tomorrow I'm going to Salida to visit my family and drop off some artwork to a new gallery. I was juried into an exhibit that opens next weekend until January 3nd. I'll be showing four pieces at Art Matters Gallery & Studio. If you're in the area, it's 142 West First Street in Salida.

New Works

Warriors
11x14 print

$20.00

Time:4
11x14 print

$20.00

My Feet
11x14
$20.00

Koi
11x14 print

PayPal vs Revolution Money Exchange

Most everyone I know that uses the computer has a PayPal account, myself included. A few months ago on Etsy, I was introduced to Revolution Money Exchange, a new way to receive and transfer funds online without the extra fees. I've been using PayPal for about three years now. And although they have been very good to me in catching people trying to get into my account and delivering my funds in a timely manner, I still get hit up for those small fees.

Say you sell a painting for $200. It goes to your PayPal account and then they take a small percentage of that. So when you transfer it to your bank account, you end up with less than $200. Now wouldn't you like to get what you asked for? I suppose that's how they make their money and stay in business and we should just start adding that little percentage to our artwork so that way we get exactly what the painting is worth.

Let's go back to Revolution Money Exchange. I'm still reading the fine print, but it seems that if someone purchases your work through Revolution Money Exchange and has an account with them, there are no fees and you get exactly what you asked for. The problem I see with this is that someone wanting to purchase your work through this newer company might not be familiar with it and shy away. They may also opt not to make the puchase because you will be rerouted to Revolution Money Exchange and be asked to start an account.

I'm going to do a little experiment. I will try and post two paintings for each new entry. When I do that one will be for sale through PayPal and the other through Revolution Money Exchange. I will do this until the end of the year and then tally the results and let you know the beginning of the year.

I would love to hear what you think about this and if you have any experience with either companies, good or bad that I should take into consideration for future sales. Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Blu Daisy and UpSiDeDoWn

Here are two new paintings on canvas board. Each are 8"x8", signed and dated on the back. They would look great in a frame, with or without glass. Both are watercolor and ink. Blu Daisy was inspired by a shirt I saw in church and UpSiDeDoWn was inspired by Jack Johnson. If you've never heard him sing, you should.

Blu Daisy 8x8 canvas board watercolor/ink $35



UpSiDeDoWn 8x8 canvas board watercolor/ink $35



You can purchase these and other cool finds @ my etsy shop.

http://www.samos.etsy.com/

Breezy, a Bear, and a Movie

Breezy is my newest painting. It's been quite awhile since I've been in the art room. I was inspired by all the beautiful leaves changing this month. Last weekend while I was on a family outing I saw so many colors! Oh, and of course my new IKEA catalog gave me a boost too!




After traveling across the state in two days, I picked up a movie at the Redbox, (my new favorite video stop) and selected Definitely, Maybe, not knowing a thing about it. Once I made it home, I checked my messages, returned phone calls, brought in a load of wood and started a fire...Ahhh. Now it's time for a good movie and a cup of tea.

Oh! I almost forgot! On my way home over the Black Canyon, I saw a black bear today! I was so excited since I've never seen one in Colorado. He had crossed the highway and was headed down into the trees. He was too quick to get a picture, but at least I have the memory.